A day after the Odisha government blamed domestic strife for the suicide of a farmer in western Odisha’s Bargarh district, the deceased farmer’s wife said the officials were lying. Odisha Agriculture Minister Pradip Maharathy had on Saturday told the Assembly that Bagarti’s suicide was not due to crop loss or debt burden. “It may have taken place due to a quarrel with his wife,” he had said.

The minister cited the inquiry report of the tehsildar and assistant agriculture officer to claim that Bagarti had a quarrel with his wife over sprinkling pesticide in the field following which he consumed pesticide.

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On February 28, farmer Khainu Bagarti, 55, died in a government hospital, two days after he consumed poison. Bagarti of Kenpalli village was under stress due to crop loss and debt burden.

But Hadu’s wife Kalabati on Sunday said there was no quarrel between the couple and no government official had visited her home for an inquiry. She claimed that they suffered crop loss due to shortage of water.